by Cora Seton
“Maybe we will find that bathroom,” he growled, her nostrils flaring when he gripped her tighter. “So, I can spank your ass for teasing me.” A shiver worked through her body, and shook him too.
“Yes,” she whispered, on a hot breath, leaning in to lick his earlobe, her hard nipples raking his chest through her thin wrap dress.
With a final squeeze of his fingers, Austin pushed her away, adjusted himself and huffed a breath trying to relieve his frustration now. “You wearing underwear?”
Sunny shivered, looked around the auditorium at the few people who held seats on the fringe, then back at him. “No, sir…you told me not to,” she grated, the white line around her lips showing the tension in her body.
Austin smiled, but it felt more like a snarl he was so fucking turned on right then. “Good girl…I’ll reward you tonight.”
Her long legs ground together at the knees as she shot blue fire at him with her eyes. Leaning in close, her scent teased him as she growled, “I don’t want to wait until tonight.”
“Welcome to hell, Sunshine,” Austin replied with a wide grin, as he took another step back. Good, she was just as frustrated as he was now, she deserved to be. “Let’s go get those seats, before it fills up,” he said, reaching in to grab her hand. “I want to be up front so I can see up your skirt.”
“You’re the one who needs his ass spanked,” Sunny growled, as she walked beside him.
Two hours later, Sunny stood behind her classmate Sharon on the stage. The heat under the black robe she wore, the pressure of being up on this stage, the hot lights that bore down on her from overhead, made her feel like she might just pass out before they called her name. The nerves in her stomach curled and dragged her light lunch up to her throat, and she swallowed hard. How in the hell was she going to give a speech, when she couldn’t even manage a decent breath? Valedictorian? Was her professor nuts? She wasn’t a valedictorian, Sunny Gleason was an idiot for working her ass off to get that last half-point bonus on her exam to beat Sharon out for the honor of being named valedictorian.
Watch what you wish for.
Sunny’s eyes slid to Austin and the pride and confidence in his eyes flowed into her. Her shoulders lifted, and her stomach settled. Sunny had more than she ever wished for, more than she ever knew she could have. Because of Austin McBride. The man had come into her life like a wrecking ball, torn her up and rebuilt her into a woman she didn’t even recognize these days. A woman she was proud to be, that her son was proud to call mom. Her eyes slid to Billy who sat beside him looking like a miniature version of Austin in his black felt hat, and shiny boots.
There was not a man on earth that Sunny would want her son to be more like. And Billy was becoming that man with every day that passed having Austin as a role model. How in the hell did she deserve to be so blessed?
“Sunny Gleason,” her professor announced, and jerked her attention back to the podium. Her heart raced, and her legs shook as she took tiny steps toward the podium. The tassel that hung over her eyes shook as badly as her knees. Professor James smiled as he reached for it, and transferred it to the back of her cap. He took her hand, and shook it as he handed her the diploma. “Congratulations, Sunny,” he said loudly, then leaned in next to her ear. “I expect to see you back soon to enroll in med school. I’ll write you a letter of recommendation.”
A tremor rocked her, as shock seized her heart. Med school? Good, God—Sunny was just happy to graduate nursing school.
“Thank you,” she whispered back, her voice as shaky as her insides. With a final smile, Professor James stepped aside and waved her to the podium. Sunny wasn’t sure she could make the two steps to get there, but somehow she did. Laying her diploma down, she cleared her throat, but her voice froze in her throat when she looked at the massive, expectant crowd.
A loud, shrill whistle split the air, jerking her attention to the front row. To Austin McBride, who used two fingers to indicate she should focus on him. His eyes transferred calm to her, and Sunny’s stomach settled, that lightheadedness subsided and her throat relaxed. Austin smiled, and she did too. God, she loved that man.
She held his gaze and somehow remembered her speech about following your passion, instead of settling for what was easy. She even remembered to thank everyone on the list she’d made that morning, but forgot on the kitchen table when they left, which accounted for part of her nervousness when she took the stage and discovered that.
Sunny saved her last thanks for last. The most important. “And finally…thank you to Chief McBride for being a pain in my ass, pushing me to my breaking point, tearing me down and then rebuilding a much better version. If the fire thing doesn’t work out for you, sweetheart, you might try construction. And I’m not saying that just because I love seeing you shirtless on a roof,” she added with a giggle, and the crowd went wild with wolf whistles, and applause. Austin had not only helped rebuild her mother’s house, for the last eight months he’d been having a small house for them built on property he’d bought without telling her. That is where he proposed to her last night, and given her a graduation gift to boot—her own horse.
Austin was the only gift she needed in her life. She would never need anything else.
When the roar died down Sunny smiled, held Austin’s eyes, and hers burned as she twisted the engagement ring he’d given her around her finger.
“Thank you for saving me, cowboy. I love you.”
The End
If you loved Where There’s Smoke (A Cowboy Way Novella), please consider leaving a review.
And also check out the other books in my Cowboy Way series:
Hope for Christmas (A Cowboy Way Novella), Just Shoot Me (#1, Cowboy Way), Cowgirl Crazy (#2, Cowboy Way), Cupid’s Cowboy (A Cowboy Way Novella), and Too Hot To Trot (#3, Cowboy Way)
A western romantic suspense series by Becky McGraw:
Texas Trouble Series
Book #1 – My Kind of Trouble (Cassie & Luke)
Book #2 – The Trouble With Love (Sabrina & Cole)
Book #3 – Double the Trouble (Karlie & Gabe)
Book #4 – Looking for Trouble (Jess & Wade)
Book #5 – Trouble in Dixie (Katie & Tommy)
Book #6 – Asking for Trouble (Jazzie & Beau)
Book #7 – Chasing Trouble (Jenny & Chase)
Book #8 – Here Comes Trouble (Terri & Joel)
Book #9 – Worth the Trouble (Roxanne & Ethan)
Book #10 – Royal Trouble (Leigh Ann & Wes)
Book #11 – Trouble With the Law (Veronica & Trace)
Book #12 – Borrowing Trouble (Carrie & Dylan)
New Series – Deep Six Security
A new erotic romantic suspense series featuring ex-military, ex-cop, security specialist and private investigator, Dave Logan, from the Texas Trouble series and his hot men.
Till Death (#1, Deep Six Security)
SEALed Fate (A Deep Six Security/Hot SEALs Kindle Worlds Crossover Novella)
Twisted Honor (#2, Deep Six Security) –coming in August 2015
Hell Bent (#3, Deep Six Security)—coming in 2015
About The Author
A Jill of many trades, NYT and USA Today Bestselling Author Becky McGraw has been an optician, a beautician, a legal secretary, a real estate broker, web designer, graphic artist, and romance writer. She knows just enough to make her dangerous, and her humor-laced contemporary western cowboy, and military, police procedural romantic suspense novels varied and interesting.
She resides in Florida with her husband of thirty-three years and her dog Abby. Becky is a member of the Romance Writers of America Published Authors Network.
You can contact Becky McGraw here:
Facebook:
www.facebook.com/beckymcgrawbooks
Website:
www.beckymcgraw.com
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@beckymcgrawbook
Email:
[email protected]
Saddles & Soot
Cynthia D�
��Alba
‡
Copyright © 2015 Cynthia D’Alba and Riante, Inc.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this book may be reproduced book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form whatsoever without written permission from the author—except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review to be printed in a magazine, newspaper, or on the web. For information, please contact the author via email at [email protected]
This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents and dialogues in this book are of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is completely coincidental.
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. eBooks are not transferable. They cannot be sold, shared or given away as it is an infringement on the copyright of this work. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
Cover Artist: Kim Killion
Editor: Carolyn Depew
Proof Reader: Tina Rucci
Critiques: Angela Cambell
Chapter One
‡
Georgina Greyson used her toes to push her porch swing into a lazy sway as she sorted her mail. Today’s bundle contained a mixture of unwanted advertising, store ads, and a couple of bills.
And then she came to the final envelope. Cream-colored, of heavy stock with fancy script writing, she was sure it could only be one thing…an invitation. Flipping it over to check the return address, she wasn’t surprised. It was what she had expected. An invitation to her ex-fiancé’s wedding.
She slid her nail under the flap and pulled out the heavy card with a swirling black font.
Priscilla Eileen Duvall
and
Christopher Joseph Lemon
Request the Pleasure
of Your Presence
Blah, blah, blah.
Yeah, yeah, Priscilla. You got him to marry you. It won’t be all you think it will.
The wedding had been last month. With all of the moving associated with her veterinary internship, the invitation had taken some time to catch up with Georgina through mail forwarding. But still, a month was a long time…. She checked the postmark. Had Priscilla actually mailed this after the ceremony to make sure Georgina knew her ex was off the market? Or maybe Priscilla wanted to make sure her groom showed up before she crowed.
As she’d suspected, the postmark was the day after the wedding.
Georgina chuckled to herself with a shake of her head. She’d dodged a bullet when Chris had dumped her for her best friend Priscilla. Too bad he’d waited until they were standing at the altar to do so. At the time she hadn’t thought herself lucky, positive her life was over, even if she survived the embarrassment. Today, a year later, she was thankful to have avoided what she was sure would have been a matrimonial error of epic proportions. She mentally wished them well and put the card with the rest of the trash to be burned.
Resting her head against the cedar plank back, Georgina pushed off again and set the swing in motion. Whispering Springs, Texas was exactly what she needed right now…a small community and a job guaranteed to keep her busy and her mind off her non-existent love life.
And speaking of her love life, it really was time to get rid of all the pictures and notes and other memorabilia from her years with Chris. Why she’d moved it around with her was a mystery even to her. Most likely it was related to her years in the foster system and her lack of ability to take much with her when she was rehoused from family to family. Now she had a problem letting go.
No more, she vowed as she stood. No time like the present to do a little housecleaning.
Her parents had died when she’d been only two years old, so she had no memories of them. She’d lived with her maternal grandmother until her death when Georgie had been ten. Living on a large farm, her grandmother always burned the trash, something Georgie had loved doing with her. Since then she’d lived in cities where burning her trash really wasn’t an option, not without drawing the cops and fire department to her door. Then again, maybe a cute cop or fireman might have been the answer to her love life drought.
But Whispering Springs was different. She lived outside town on a small farm with just enough acreage to make her feel a little country. No crops to tend, but there was a horse, a cow and a goat to care for during her stay. That was part of the rental agreement, not that she minded. Along with the four barn cats, they gave her some company.
She found the box marked “Crap” in the spare bedroom and hauled it outside to the blackened area ringed with rocks where she assumed previous tenants had burned their trash. Then she gathered up all the newspapers and junk mail that’d been accumulating over the past week. Might as well get rid of those while she was at it.
She found perverse pleasure as she watched the flames lick and then consume the wedding invitation. Fire cleansed, and after seeing the cream-color turn to black ash, she felt the relief of the past being lifted off her shoulders.
Speaking of shoulders, she remembered an old jacket that belonged to Chris in her closet. Heck, yeah. She’d burn that too. And maybe even that pair of running shoes he’d left at her house that’d somehow gotten packed and moved.
The fire burned low and Georgie hurried into the house to grab those items. While there, she found a couple of shirts and a pair of jeans of his that definitely needed to be torched. Collecting the wad of old Chris-clothing in her arms, she hot-footed it back to the now barely-burning fire and dropped everything on top.
Her phone buzzed. She wasn’t technically on-call this weekend but she’d promised Dr. Mabee that she’d be around if an emergency came up. But when she saw the name on the readout, she smiled. Magda Hobbs Montgomery was the reason Georgie had ended up in Texas.
“Hey, girlfriend. What’s shakin’ bacon?”
Magda laughed. “Man, I haven’t heard that in years.”
Georgie returned the laugh. “No one but you would get it. Glad you called.”
“You okay?”
“Oh, sure. Getting settled in nicely.” Georgie went back to the porch swing and sat. “I’m glad I had a few days to get settled before I have to go to work.”
“Where’s Mabee going again?”
“Australia. Some research trip he’s been dying to do, to hear him tell it. Personally, I think it’s just an excuse for an extended second honeymoon.”
“When do you actually start work?”
“Tomorrow. He’s taking me around to meet all the ranchers and cattlemen so they’ll know me if they need to call the clinic.”
“Oh goodie. He’ll bring you by here then. Try to make it about one and I’ll have lunch for you both.”
“You don’t have to do that,” Georgie protested.
“Honey, you know me. I don’t do anything I don’t want to.”
Georgie laughed. “True.”
“Plus I want you to meet Reno.”
“Kind of taken with that husband of yours.”
Magda sighed. “You have no idea.”
The scent of smoke filtered around the side of the house. “I guess I’d better check on my fire.”
“Your what?” Magda shouted. “Fire? Your house is on fire?”
“No, no. Nothing like that. I was burning trash, and a few things that needed to be permanently disposed of.”
“There’s a burn ban on right now. County’s as dry as I’ve ever seen it. You might want to go put that fire out pronto.”
“Burn ban? Seriously? I didn’t know. I’ll–”
The sound of a siren interrupted her. “I hear a siren close by. Guess you’re probably right about putting out the fire. Holler at you later.”
The smoke rolling around from the back of the house was heavier and darker now. Probably those darn running shoes smoldering. Maybe she should have thr
own those into a Salvation Army bin. Too late now.
She screwed the hose nozzle onto the faucet at the side of the house and dragged the hose around to douse the fire. The unexpected heat from the growing blaze pushed her back. Somehow the fire had jumped its rock boundary and was eating its way toward the house.
Crap, crap, crap.
She’d begun frantically spraying the hose when a large, red firetruck braked to a stop in front of her house. Three men in tan turnout coats and pants jumped from the truck and scrambled for equipment. Behind the fire engine, five trucks skidded to a stop, red strobe lights on the dashes flashing through the windshields.
“Grab the hose and let’s get it around back,” the tall man from the first pick-up truck shouted. “Buddy, be sure to get the fitting tight this time. We need all the water we can get.” He shoved past Georgie with a gruff, “Move, lady.”
Two firemen raced past her dragging a large hose toward her fire. Good grief. It wasn’t even that big of a fire. Sure, it’d gotten out of its assigned location but she could have handled it with a simple garden hose. What an overreaction. Typical small volunteer fire department.
As that thought crossed her mind, the pine tree close to her bedroom window crackled as fire leapt up into its branches.
The animals! She needed to make sure they were okay.
Whirling around, she raced around the front of the house and approached the shared pasture from the other side of the house. Surprisingly, she found three more firemen there putting out small fires that’d started in the dead grass in the yard.
Running past them, she got to the fence and saw all three animals watching the firemen with a mixture of curiosity and fear. None of the burn paths had led to the pasture, so none of the animals she’d been trusted to protect were at risk. Even the smoke wasn’t as thick over here.